Improvement in wieasuriwg-cans



DAVID M. MEFFORD, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN INVEN- TIONCOMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN ll-EASURING-CANS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 156.809, dated November10, 1874 z application filed August 15, 1874.

To all whom it may concern Beit known that -I, DAVID M. Marroni), ofToledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Measuring-Cans 5 and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings andto the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecication.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction of a can with anegress or delivery-spout of any desired shape at its bottom, which iscapable of being elongated or shortened within certain limits,` in orderthat accurate weights may be obtained by measurement of all articles ofdifferent densities that will ilow by their own gravity, as will beherematter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of ameasuring-can embodying' my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section ofthe same through the line w w, Fig. 1. Figs. 3, l, and 5 are horizontalsections through the lines a: x, y y, and z z, respectively of Fig. 1.

A represents a can,of any desired dimensions, having a conical bottom,with a pitch sufciently steep to secure the desired now of the contents,and a cap, B, covering an opening in the top large enough to allow theconvenient lling of the can. C is a cylindrical funnel attached to thebottom of the can, with an interior ilexible curtain, a, to prevent thedescending contents of the can, when in the form of grain, from chokingthe pivoted valve D, as, if the contents of the can were grain,unground, being hard, it would ill the entire space of the funnel abovethe valve, and become wedged in the opening in the funnel, in which thevalve moves; but by the use of the curtain a the contents are kept fromthe sides ofthe funnel above the valve, and as the curtain is exible itdoes not interfere with the movement of the valve. This valve passeshorizontally through an opening in one side of the funnel (J, and formsthe top of the measure. E is an adjustable cylinder, which can be movedup and down on the funnel C, and has a straight longitudinal slot, b, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. l, through which a pin, d, passes, saidpin being fixed in the funnel G. The cylinder E has an exterior looseband or sleeve, G, which has a spiral slot, fi, crossing the slot b atthe point where the pin d comes through, and is also pene trated by it.

By turning the loose band G, the tube composed of the parts C and E isvaried in length by means of the pin d working in the spiral slot i, theaction of which is to completely lock the `two cylinders unless the bandG is turned.

D is another horizontal valve, similar to the valve D, and forms thebottom of the adjustable measure. The cylinder E terminates in atapering funnel, to facilitate the packing of the goods that have beenweighed.

The can may be suspended in any convenient manner from the shelves orceiling; or it may be supported on a column or other suitable base, asmay be desired.

In operating the can, after both valves have been closed the can isfilled with the commodity through the opening in the top. The desiredunit of measure is then obtained by adjusting the delivery-tube to sucha height that the measure between the valves will hold the exact amountdesired, its accuracy being tested by correct scales. established beingfirmly held at the point thus ascertained by the band G, all that needsto be'done until the can is emptied of that commodity is to open firstthe upper valve, D, and close it when the measure is full; then open thelower valve, D', and allow the contents of the measure to dischargethemselves into the packing bag or receptacle, held below the funnel.

This operation is repeated as often as necessary, and the unit ofmeasure can be changed at will in the manner indicated above..

It will be found that the commodity in the can will almostinstantaneously lill the measure by its own iow, and the valve D, by itsoperation of closing, gives a struck measure of uniform weight, so thateach measure will be the duplicate of the one that preceded it.

The measure thus 2 tease@ In addition to the saving of time secured by lot' the cylinder E, provided with the vertical Weighing by measure, myscale-can has the slot b, the exterior sleeve G, with spiral slot greatadvantage of protecting its contents z', the pin d, and valves D D7 allsubstantially from exposure to the atmosphere, and thus as and for thepurposes herein set forth.

not only keeps them from dust and moisture, In testimony that I claimthe foregoing as but saves them from loss of odor and flavor. my own Iafx my signature in presence of Having thus fully described myinvention, two Witnesses.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by DAVID M. MEFFORD. LettersPatent, is Witnesses:

lhe combination7 With a can7 A, having a JAS. J. FRENCH, cylindricalspout or funnel, C, at its bottom7 IRA-E. LEE.

